Blohm and Voss Bv 40

History

While the German focus of Blohm und Voss is generally focused on shipbuilding due to its role in history, it started working in the aircraft field during the re-equipment years before World War II (1939-1945). During the war, the Luftwaffe employed several major airship designs, and the company attempted to make its fortune by designing many fighter designs to meet continued demand.

Blohm & Voss can never be accused of being too traditional, especially considering its unorthodox products like the BV 141 asymmetric reconnaissance light bomber (which is detailed elsewhere on this site). Added the BV 40 to his list of paper airplanes - unique in his approach as it was designed to be a "fighter jet".

In 1944, with the rise of the Soviet war machine in the East and the success of the Allied forces in North Africa, Italy, and throughout France, Germany's fortunes changed significantly. Allied bombers bombarded factories, industrial centers, and general infrastructure day and night, and were particularly damaging to the German war effort.

Therefore, German aircraft needed to be able to withstand the challenges of these bombers and inflict their own destruction before these aircraft dropped the war load.

The BV 40 is designed to be a very cost-effective alternative to the more complex and expensive jet or rocket-powered fighter jets in service. The plane was given a more utilitarian look, with a boxy fuselage made mostly of wood and an armored single-seat cockpit in the front. The pilot lies prone on a padded bench at the nose, which makes it possible to adopt a very slim profile.

The cockpit is finished with sheet metal construction. The main plane of the wing (straight attachment) is mounted high for maximum lift, while the empennage uses a single vertical stabilizer with a mid-mounted horizontal plane set forward.

A two-wheeled undercarriage (which can be discarded after takeoff) is located under the front of the fuselage and glides through the belly for landing (the pilot will slide his plane off after the mission). Proposed weapons include 2 x 30mm MK-108 automatic cannons mounted at each wing root with 35 usable rounds per gun.

Dimensions include a length of 18.7 feet, a wingspan of 26 feet, and a height of 5.4 feet. Curb weight is 1,845 lbs and maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) is 2,095 lbs. Top speed while diving is estimated at 560 mph, possibly 345 mph when towed by a Bf 109G model series aircraft.

The BV 40 would theoretically be towed in pairs behind the single-propeller-driven Messerschmitt Bf 109 (Germany's most prominent war fighter). The three planes flew high in response to incoming bomber formations - the Bf 109's job was to keep these gliders at some distance above the formation before they started attacking. Once at high altitude, the glider is released, and the BV 40 pilots use basic aerophysics to break through formations of unsuspecting bombers - with an initial angle of attack of 20 degrees.

This type of attack allows only one or two runs on the target, so the pilot's concentration is key - the cannon should make the job of a large aircraft short. Once their power (or ammunition) is depleted, the gliders will return to a predetermined recovery zone on their slides to be rearmed and reused on future intercept missions.

The design of the BV 40 was given to renowned aeronautical engineer Dr. Richard Vogt. The first flight was completed on May 6, 1944, and 19 prototypes were ordered through a contract that also called for 200 production-quality machines. The BV 40 was easy to produce and operate, and had some advantages for a country with limited access to war materiel.

However, the program never really took off, as the focus apparently remained on the turbojet-powered interceptor. Interest in the BV 40 waned due to mounting losses to Germany, and only seven prototypes were completed for the project in the autumn of 1944.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes